Marvin Ducksch made his international debut in Germany’s 3-2 defeat against Turkey on Saturday. The Werder Bremen striker’s childhood dream came true when he replaced Julian Brandt in the 82nd minute of the game at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. The 29-year-old spoke with DFB.de about all the good luck messages he’s received and looked ahead to Germany’s final fixture of the calendar year - a friendly against Austria in Vienna on Tuesday (20:45 CET).
DFB.de: Marvin, do you know which other Germany internationals also made their debuts against Turkey?
Marvin Ducksch: No, I’ve got no idea.
DFB.de: Three World Cup winners: Helmut Rahn, Wolfgang Overath and Gerd Müller.
Ducksch: Wow! That’s news to me.
DFB.de: When you hear those names, does it make you proud to be in their company? Or do you feel the pressure to live up to them?
Ducksch: It makes me proud. I probably won’t be able to get close to achieving what those three achieved at this stage in my career. I don’t want to compare myself with them.
DFB.de: You received a lot of messages after making your debut. Which one were you most surprised about?
Ducksch: I can’t name any names, but one of the messages made me really, really happy. There were lots from people that have been by my side over the years. My current head coach, my manager, and the sporting director at Werder also sent me messages, which obviously made me happy. My best friends were even at the stadium and my family were watching the game at home.
DFB.de: There’s no doubt that your friend Niclas Füllkrug would’ve been among the well-wishers if he hadn’t been playing alongside you. You were once the “ugly ducklings”, but now you’re both playing for the national team – how did it feel to play for Germany with him by your side?
Ducksch: It was an amazing experience to make my debut with him alongside me. We gave each other a hug shortly after I came on and said to each other that we’d play like we did in Bremen back in the day, because we were playing with two strikers on Saturday. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much of a say in the rest of the game.
DFB.de: Did you dream of playing for Germany when you were a kid, or was it too far in the future to think about?
Ducksch: It was definitely a childhood dream, and also one that I also had when I started my career. I started to be more realistic at some point and admitted to myself that it was a very, very ambitious dream. That being said, I never lost faith and always kept a bit of hope, since I always wanted to play for the national team when I was younger. I’ve been heading in the right direction over the past few years and have continued to work on myself. And now, here I am.
DFB.de: Are you still happy with your debut despite the result? How do you feel about it?
Ducksch: It’s a feeling that nobody can take away from me. Coming on was one of the best moments of my life. That being said, it would’ve been even better if we’d have won.
DFB.de: Are you feeling optimistic ahead of the game against Austria on Tuesday?
Ducksch: Sort of. We spoke about the things that didn’t work well against Turkey. We’re going to show a different side to our game against Austria. I’m fully convinced that, with the quality that we have, we’ll be able to end the year on a high with a win.
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Marvin Ducksch made his international debut in Germany’s 3-2 defeat against Turkey on Saturday. The Werder Bremen striker’s childhood dream came true when he replaced Julian Brandt in the 82nd minute of the game at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. The 29-year-old spoke with DFB.de about all the good luck messages he’s received and looked ahead to Germany’s final fixture of the calendar year - a friendly against Austria in Vienna on Tuesday (20:45 CET).
DFB.de: Marvin, do you know which other Germany internationals also made their debuts against Turkey?
Marvin Ducksch: No, I’ve got no idea.
DFB.de: Three World Cup winners: Helmut Rahn, Wolfgang Overath and Gerd Müller.
Ducksch: Wow! That’s news to me.
DFB.de: When you hear those names, does it make you proud to be in their company? Or do you feel the pressure to live up to them?
Ducksch: It makes me proud. I probably won’t be able to get close to achieving what those three achieved at this stage in my career. I don’t want to compare myself with them.
DFB.de: You received a lot of messages after making your debut. Which one were you most surprised about?
Ducksch: I can’t name any names, but one of the messages made me really, really happy. There were lots from people that have been by my side over the years. My current head coach, my manager, and the sporting director at Werder also sent me messages, which obviously made me happy. My best friends were even at the stadium and my family were watching the game at home.
DFB.de: There’s no doubt that your friend Niclas Füllkrug would’ve been among the well-wishers if he hadn’t been playing alongside you. You were once the “ugly ducklings”, but now you’re both playing for the national team – how did it feel to play for Germany with him by your side?
Ducksch: It was an amazing experience to make my debut with him alongside me. We gave each other a hug shortly after I came on and said to each other that we’d play like we did in Bremen back in the day, because we were playing with two strikers on Saturday. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much of a say in the rest of the game.
DFB.de: Did you dream of playing for Germany when you were a kid, or was it too far in the future to think about?
Ducksch: It was definitely a childhood dream, and also one that I also had when I started my career. I started to be more realistic at some point and admitted to myself that it was a very, very ambitious dream. That being said, I never lost faith and always kept a bit of hope, since I always wanted to play for the national team when I was younger. I’ve been heading in the right direction over the past few years and have continued to work on myself. And now, here I am.
DFB.de: Are you still happy with your debut despite the result? How do you feel about it?
Ducksch: It’s a feeling that nobody can take away from me. Coming on was one of the best moments of my life. That being said, it would’ve been even better if we’d have won.
DFB.de: Are you feeling optimistic ahead of the game against Austria on Tuesday?
Ducksch: Sort of. We spoke about the things that didn’t work well against Turkey. We’re going to show a different side to our game against Austria. I’m fully convinced that, with the quality that we have, we’ll be able to end the year on a high with a win.
